ASX 200 closes higher to its best week in six months; Boral sinks 42pc on ex-dividend

ASX ends up by 0.6 per cent as tech firms bounce. Westpac gains on investor upgrades, Boral dives 42 per cent on ex-dividend and News Corp jumps on strong results.

The market is starting to price in more aggressive rates hikes from central banks in Europe. Picture: Paul Miller/ AAP Image.

Welcome to the Trading Day blog for Friday, February 4.  A late surge has seen the ASX finish at an eight-day high as it posts its best week in six months to be up 1.9 per cent.

The S&P/ASX 200 index ended 0.6 per cent higher at 7120.1, while the All Ordinaries closed up by 44.2 points to 7418.8, despite sharp falls on Wall Street overnight.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1.5 per cent lower, the S&P 500 finished down by 2.4 per cent and tech-heavy Nasdaq sank 3.7 per cent.

Iron ore traded 3 per cent higher overnight to $US145.95 a tonne. The US Nymex crude price climbed 2.2 per cent to $US90.19 a barrel.